After a short notice, Dan Miller is set to face Rousimar Palhares at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro.

Going on with a long trend of stepping into bouts on a short notice, Dan Miller was tapped to face Rousimar Palhares at UFC 134. The latter was supposed to meet Alexandre Ferreira before being removed from the bout due to undisclosed reasons.

Dan Miller is coming off a unanimous decision loss over Nate Marquardt at UFC 128. The latter was expected to lock horns with Yushin Okami, but the Japanese MMA fighter bowed out from the bout following the Japan earthquake and tsunami incident. Dan Miller carries a 13-5 record, with one No Decision on his professional career. Rousimar Palhares, on the other hand, will attempt to have his second straight win after submitting Dave Branch last March. He is carrying a 12-3 record, and has won four of his last five bouts in UFC.

The UFC 134 – dubbed as UFC Rio – will kick off in Rio de Janeiro, and will feature a middleweight title bout between reigning champ – Anderson Silva – and Yushin Okami.

Alexandre Ferreira and Rousimar Palhares are in negotiation to have a middleweight battle at UFC Rio. Who will gain the rally and redemption?

Brazilian UFC vets, Alexandre Ferreira and Rousimar Palhares, were reportedly said to have verbal agreements to face each other at UFC 134. Their match-up was originally scheduled for UFC on Versus 3, until Alexandre Ferreira bowed out of the match in the wake of devastating flooding in Brazil four months ago.

Moreover, Sherdog.com reported that the fighter was dismissed from Chute Boxe Academy. Hence, Alexandre Ferreira’s future in MMA was put into doubt. But it seems that the middleweight fighter is moving on, and he’s aiming to return in the winner’s column following his UFC promotional loss. Rousimar Palhares, on the other hand, is making a momentum after his pivotal defeat against Nate Marquardt at UFC Fight Night 22.

Whether the Ferreira vs Palhares middleweight brawl will grace the UFC Rio’s main card is yet to be known. UFC 134, originally dubbed as UFC Rio, will take place on August 27 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The event is anticipated to feature a middleweight title match pitting Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami.

Palhares and Ferreira are targeted for the next season of Versus 3. The final bout has not yet confirmed though, sources said that a verbal agreement has been done for the two fighters.

Brazilians Rousimar Palhares (11-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Alexandre Ferreira (18-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) are slated for UFC on Versus 3. Sources also confirmed that verbal agreements are in place for the middleweight fight. This fight will come as a debut fight for Ferreira at 185 pounds.

UFC on Versus will take place March 3and could take place in Ketucky and though Bellator has yet to finalize a venue for the event, Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center and Freedom Hall are under heavy consideration.